Dog-Killing Order Scandal: Balaštíková Sets Her Sights on the Senate Again

Former Czech MP for the ANO movement Lenka Balaštíková tried to twist the facts of an old scandal—her order to have a dog shot dead—in an interview with moderator Luboš Xaver Veselý. The case, which first erupted a year ago, is back in the spotlight now that the politician is running for the Senate in Uherské Hradiště, this time not for ANO but for the movement Odvážné Česko (Brave Czechia).

In the interview, Balaštíková described the affair as "an order to get rid of her ex-husband's dogs," even though the animal in question actually belonged to her then-husband's girlfriend. She also questioned the authenticity of the audio recordings published by the news portal Seznam Zprávy, in which she can be heard demanding that the dog be shot.

What the Recordings Reveal

The recordings were made in the summer of 2023 by her ex-husband, Josef Balaštík, at their family home—he wanted evidence of the conflicts that had repeatedly brought police to their door. "When are you finally going to arrange for that dog to be shot? You said you'd take care of it, that you had friends who could do it. Sure you did, like hell you did," Balaštíková fumes on a recording from August 2023.

The authenticity of the recordings was later confirmed by a forensic expert as part of the official investigation. Despite this, in her latest interview the politician tries to portray the entire scandal as the result of a targeted smear campaign against her.

Her Departure from ANO Was Not Voluntary

Balaštíková, once floated as a possible ministerial candidate, also distorts in the interview the story of her departure from the ANO movement last year. In her current version of events, she left of her own accord, voluntarily and "with courage." In reality, it was ANO leader Andrej Babiš who struck her from the party's candidate list for the Zlín Region after the recordings surfaced.

"This kind of behavior is absolutely unacceptable and must stop immediately," Babiš said at the time, adding that he himself keeps four dogs and simply cannot fathom such an attitude toward animals. The scandal even caught the attention of foreign media—Britain's The Telegraph, for one, ran a dedicated article on Balaštíková, complete with a photograph.

Case Closed, but Not Forgotten

Legally speaking, the case is now formally closed, but that is by no means a vindication for the politician. According to Uherské Hradiště police, her conduct was classified as an offense against public order (a breach of the rules governing peaceful coexistence between citizens). Balaštíková avoided punishment only because the statute of limitations had expired by the time the investigation concluded.

Now Balaštíková is attempting to make her political comeback through the Senate elections—this time under the banner of the Odvážné Česko movement.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz